Less than 20 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the Leclerc tanks, the main means of attack of the French battle group deployed in Romania, have arrived at the „Smârdan” shooting ground in Galati (south-east). The place is hosting an extensive training exercise, for which approximately 600 French soldiers have been mobilized, with 200 combat vehicles. The „Smârdan” exercise is the largest currently carried out by NATO on the eastern border of the EU. On Friday, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, and his counterparts from France and the Netherlands, Catherine Colonna and Wopke Hoekstra respectively, will visit the „Getica” National Training Center in Cincu (center). According to the MFA, the program of the ministers’ visit will include interactions with military personnel, especially French and Dutch, and visits to several military facilities jointly used by the allied troops deployed in Romania.
